F.5.ii.2. Overviews of Regional and National Movements

Discusses the deadly forms of violence against women in Latin America, developments since the launching of the Latin America Model Protocol in 2014 by UN Women and the High Commissioner of Human Rights, and the most recent updates on the legislation by Latin American countries.

To access the last Survey on gender-based violence in Latin America, please see http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/about-us/highlights/2016/highlight-rn63.html

The Third Committee’s (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) report on the advancement of women worldwide. The Third Committee had before it the report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (document A/73/38). Also before the Committee were reports of the Secretary-General on Trafficking in women and girls (document A/73/263); intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation (document A/73/266); intensifying efforts to end obstetric fistula within a generation (document A/73/285) and intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (document A/73/294). The Committee also had before it a report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences on violence against women in politics (document A/73/301).

Brief overview on the recent rise in feminist activity, on the advances of women in jobs and their role within the judiciary. It focuses especially on the new role for women religious scholars. 

Fact sheet providing information about Spotlight - a global campaign in joint partnership between the EU and UN - to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in South East Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Pacific and Caribbean region. The initiative aims to contribute to the achievement of SGD Goal 5 on Gender Equality and SDG Goal 16 on inclusive and peaceful societies. It provides information on the EU’s Gender Action Plan 2016-202 0 and UNFPA (https://www.unfpa.org/) and the surveys conducted to shed light on this form of violence.

Spotlight’s official website can be accessed at http://www.un.org/en/spotlight-initiative/index.shtml

This article examines how women’s organisations have attempted to ensure compliance for Hausa-Fulani women with the Minimum Age of Marriage Clause of Nigerian Child Rights Act of 2003, in a context of plural legal systems and traditional norms, which make achieving gender equality difficult. The authors focus on this issue in the context of feminist attempts in Nigeria since the 1980s to reconstruct the concept of ‘the feminine’. This reconstruction is especially important in struggling against patriarchy and local interpretations of Islam in northern Nigeria.

This article assesses women’s progress in Saudi Arabia since the lifting of the driving ban in 2018, and reports on the official decision to grant women passports to travel abroad without a male guardian’s consent. This is a step towards reversing the deprivation of women’s legal, political and human rights unique to Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi version of Islam as interpreted by conservative clerics.  But women still cannot marry, or leave domestic violence shelters or prison without a male relative’s consent.  Moreover, Al Rasheed notes, prominent feminist activists had been imprisoned.  However, Saudi feminists are still discreetly and effectively engaging within civil society to help women.

See also ‘Women in Saudi Arabia: Changing the Guard’, Economist, 20 July 2019, p.42.

Reports official plans to lift some restrictions on women, but also notes fears that a right to travel would increase the number of women fleeing abroad and seeking asylum.  The article contextualises possible reforms to free women in the conflicting politics of liberalisation and repression being practised by the Crown Prince.

A report on the initiative by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to create the first legally binding international treaty on violence and harassment in the field of work. The Convention – whose proposed title is ‘Convention and Recommendations Concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work’ – has so far received support from ILO member governments, various NGOs and employers and it was scheduled to be discussed in the Summer 2019. It will aim at addressing normative gaps in law and policy in countries or situations where there is no legal provision on sexual harassment in employment. The aim is that ratifying countries will prevent and address harassment through strengthening enforcing mechanisms and ensuring remedies for victims, and by acknowledging the costs of violence and harassment in the workplace. An important step is that the Convention focuses on addressing the needs of all women, including average-wage and low-wage workers.

This book draws on a wide range of academic disciplines to present the very diverse nature of feminist thought and activism in Japan since the early 20^th century. It covers employment, education, literature and the arts, as well as feminist protests and initiatives. The book includes ideas and approaches adopted by a range of cultural and socio-political groups that have not bee labeled feminist, but which have promoted ideas and values close to feminism. It also examines important aspects of feminist history to challenge the mainstream interpretation of them.

Explores the rise of feminism and feminist activism in Jordan following December 2016, when women's rights activists protest in front of Parliament in Amman, Jordan calling for an end to violence against women.

See also https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/978-1-137-59291-0_22

In El Salvador, hundreds of women marched in the capital San Salvador on this day, to protest for reproductive rights, against violence, and in celebration of the release of three women jailed on abortion charges. The article also discusses the Trump administration’s cut of funding towards programs that support women and the initiative to tackle violence against women that exists in El Salvador.

Professor of Chinese Studies Harriet Evans analyses the development of feminist activism in comparison with feminism in the UK. Drawing on the idea of sexual and gender rights, she also makes a comparison with the LGBTQ community and its global organisational activism since the 1990s.

This book discusses the popular myth that women have fared well as a result of post-socialist China's economic reforms and breakneck growth. It lays out the structural discrimination against women in China and speaks of the broader problems within China's economy, politics, and development.

See also ‘Talking policy: Leta Hong Fincher on feminism in China’, World Policy, 2 June 2017, https://worldpolicy.org/2017/06/02/talking-policy-leta-hong-fincher-on-feminism-in-china/ where Leta Hong discusses her book Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China and the development of feminism in china from the post-socialist era up to these days.

This book illustrates how Arab women have been engaging in ongoing, parallel struggles before, during, and after the Arab Spring. It focuses on three levels: 1) the political struggle to pave the way to democracy, freedom, and reform; 2) the social struggle to achieve gender equality and combat all forms of injustice and discrimination against women; and 3) the legal struggle to chart new laws which can safeguard both the political and the social gains. The contributors argue that while the political upheavals often had a more dramatic impact, they should not overshadow the parallel social and legal revolutions, which are equally important, due to their long-term impacts on the region. The chapters shed light on the intersections, overlaps and divergences between these gendered struggles and unpacks their complexities and multiple implications, locally, regionally, and internationally.

The author argues that the historical preoccupation with the anti-apartheid struggle, which has also focused on the role of men as agents of change, has obscured both the role of women from all races and classes who joined in the national struggle, and women’s campaigning for their own rights. She uses oral histories, South African newspaper reports and materials from organisations such as the Black Sash to show women’s influence on legislation passed under and immediately after apartheid. She also notes how women created their own political spaces and, at times, transcended race and class divides.

Explores the struggles of women during different historical events and political regimes in the Philippines, including during the Spanish colonization, Marcos dictatorship, and the current challenges under the administration of President Duterte. The study hopes to enhance conversations and possibilities for collaboration among new generation of feminists and experienced women activists at the national and global fronts.

See also: Gabriel, Arneil G. (2017) “Indigenous women and the law: The consciousness of marginalized women in the Philippines”, Asian Journal of Women's Studies, Vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 250-263 and https://www.cbsnews.com/news/international-womens-day-march-8-protests-amplify-feminism-in-asia/

This book examines the diverse experiences of being young in today’s Africa. It offers new perspectives on the roles and positions young people take to change their conditions both within and beyond the formal political structures and institutions. The contributors represent several social science disciplines, and analyse critically dominant discourses of youth, politics and ideology. Despite focusing on Africa, the book is a collective effort to understand what it is like to be young today, and what working for change means in personal and political terms.

Gives an account on the debate in Kyrgyzstan, and more generally in Central Asia, about women's rights and the role of women in contemporary Central Asian societies. Provides link to videos and podcast debating the issue. 

This study looks at feminism in China over the last century and reveals that feminist movements and arguments at most times have been linked to the nation’s development. Independent and mass feminist movements like those in the West never developed in China. By taking a look at the realities of women and their images in contemporary China, the study shows that feminism in the People’s Republic of China has still plenty of room for development.

See also Menke Augustine, (2017) ‘The development of feminism in China’, Undergraduate Thesis and Professional Papers, pp. 20.

An exploration of the history of the women’s movement in Bangladesh, its achievements and the internal and external challenges for a sustainable movement it faces. The author weaves in broader historical changes and discusses the nature of the current political context and its impact on the feminist movement in Bangladesh.

The report identifies the progress made by institutional approaches to tackling violence against women in the region. It also presents examples in some states in the areas of prevention, care, punishment, and reparation for violence against women and provides recommendations to address the obstacles that prevent the full implementation of measures tackling violence against women in the Latin America. It provides an important resource for many countries in the process of formulating, implementing and evaluating their own public policies and plans.